Hollinger Corp. 
pH 8.5 



182 

5 
12 

py 1 



New York State 

Education Building 




T>.-^. 'f. 



Albany 



I 'I- AUr^^'S 



p. f » »« 

jAN ?A >513 



■V* 



New York State Education Building 

The New York State Education Department is Scope of 
charged with the general management and super- ^^P^^**^®*^* 
vision not only of all public schools but of all the 
educational work of the State. Its jurisdiction 
extends in varying degrees to the district, village 
and city schools, to the normal schools, the colleges 
and universities, the professional and technical 
schools, libraries, museums, study clubs, historical 
societies, and other institutions of an educational 
character. It supervises the entrance requirements 
to, and the licensing and practice of, the profes- 
sions of medicine, law, dentistry, veterinary med- 
icine, pharmacy, optometry, chiropody, and also 
supervises the certification of nurses, public account- 
ants and shorthand reporters. Through the Uni- 
versity of the State of New York it may incorporate 
any universit)^, college, academy, library, museum, 
or other institution or association for the promotion 
of knowledge. 

The Department regularly inspects the educa- 
tional institutions within its jurisdiction, licenses 
teachers, sets up uniform standards for the public 
schools, maintains the State Library, the State 
D40-Jai3-SOOO (7-2738) 



Building 



Cost 



Architects 
Contractor 



Exterior 
features 



Museum, and the State Library School, and appor- 
tions to the schools the appropriations annually 
made by the Legislature. 

The construction of the New York State Educa- 
tion Building was authorized by an act of the 
Legislature which became a law June i, 1906. It 
is the first building in this country to be devoted 
entirely to the administration of a state system of 
education. Work was begun July 29, 1908 and 
the formal dedication occurred October 15, 16 and 
17, 1912. 

The total cost of the site was ^466,440.75 and 
its area is over two and one-half acres. The entire 
cost of the building, including site, will be about 
$5,000,000. 

The architects are Palmer, Hornbostel & Jones 
of New York City, and the contractors the R. T. 
Ford Company of Rochester. 

The building faces south upon Washington 
avenue, and also has a frontage upon Hawk, Swan 
and Elk streets. It is of classical design, a colon- 
nade of thirty-six columns extending along the 
entire front. Behind this colonnade is an ample 
arcade, the wall being broken by a series of large 
semicircular openings which allow great window 
area. The floor of the arcade is constructed of 
clinker brick brought from England and laid in 
herringbone fashion. The entire fagade is crowned 
by a solid wall which gives it unity and strength. 



The columnar treatment is also carried across the 
ends of the building. 

Gray granite from Maine is used for the base. 
The front and end walls and the columns are of 
white Vermont marble, the capitals of the columns 
being of glazed terra cottn. The rear walls are 
constructed of a light-colored vitreous brick and 
terra cotta. 

The roof is of copper with great skylight space. •*^°°* 

The ground between the curb and the building Landscape 
is laid out with walks, lawns and barberry hedges. 
There are also granite pedestals for vases. Norway 
maples are placed at the curb along the front and 
ends of the lot. 

A wide flight of easy steps leads to the main Main entrance 
entrance at the center of the building (Washington 
avenue). There are other entrances at either end 
(Hawk and Swan streets). 

The building is of fireproof construction through- Construction 
out. The floors are of steel, marble, mosaic and 
concrete. 

Heat is supplied by a vacuum steam heating Heat and light 
system, the power for which is generated in a new 
State power plant two blocks away, and the elec- 
tric light and power comes from dynamos located 
in the same power house. 

The building is ventilated by a system of ducts Ventilation 
and flues concealed behind the partitions and struc- 
tural work. Large electric-driven fans force fresh 



Location 
Plan 



air through these ducts, after it has passed over 
cheesecloth screens and tempering coils in the filter 
rooms, to the various rooms of the building. It is 
then drawn out by other fans and exhausted at the 
roof. This system contemplates a complete change 
of air throughout the building, the volume and 
frequency of the change being proportioned to the 
size of rooms and number of occupants. 

The block diagram and measurements give some 
idea of the plan and size of the building. The 
height of the building at the Hawk street end is 
148 feet; at the Swan street end, 128 feet. 



Utility 



Stack room 



Auditorium 



BASEMENT 

The basement contains the janitor's and cleaners' 
rooms, storage rooms, shipping rooms, a driveway 
and court for shipping purposes, ventilating, heat- 
ing and lighting apparatus, toilet rooms for the 
staff and for the public, workshop, bindery, rock- 
cutting plant for the Museum, and the lower floors 
of the great bookstack of the Library, which are 
carried about 30 feet into the ground. 

At the eastern end of the building beginning in 
the basement and occupying two stories is the 
auditorium with a gallery and promenade on three 
sides. Its decorative treatment is in a modified 
Greek style and it has a seating capacity of about 
nine hundred. 



In the west end of the basement is a large safety Safety vault 
vault 15 by 43 feet, with ample steel boxes and 
cases, to provide for the safekeeping of manu- 
scripts, historical documents and other valuable 
relics which are in the possession of the Department. 

FIRST FLOOR 

To the right of the vestibule at the main en- Main 
trance is a broad staircase leading to the second staircase 
floor rotunda. This vestibule and the rotunda 
with its vaulted corridors are constructed of Indiana 
limestone. 

Directly in front of the entrance is the main group Elevators 
of elevators and at the left is the bureau of informa- 
tion. 

A broad corridor runs east and west the entire Main corridor 
length of the first floor. The material used for the 
pillars in this corridor is Tennessee marble. 

The Regents chamber, which occupies the south- Regents 
west corner, has walls of Indiana limestone and an chamber 
ornate ceiling of oak with composition ornament. 
The rooms of the Commissioner of Education are Commissioner's 
adjacent to the Regents chamber and are treated °™*^® 
with mahogany wainscoting. Other offices on the ^®^ 

front of the building accommodate the three assist- 
ant commissioners, the Administration Division, 
the School Libraries Division and Visual Instruc- 
tion Division. In the rear of the building on this 



Stack room 



floor are the Vocational Schools Division, Law Divi- 
sion, editing section, cashier's office, Inspections 
Division, Attendance Division, Statistics Division, 
storekeeper's room, mailing room and the acces- 
sion section of the library. The wing in the rear 
contains the continuation of the book stacks, and 
on the west side rooms for letter files, telephone 
exchange and the manuscript section, and on the 
east, the cataloging room. 



SECOND FLOOR 

Rotunda Jo the north of the circular central rotunda 

extends a great vaulted corridor 40 feet in width, 
48 feet in height and 52 feet in length leading to 
the general reference reading room; to the east a 
shorter vaulted corridor leads to the periodical 
room and medical library; and to the west a similar 
corridor leads to the law and legislative reference 
libraries. These corridors are roofed with leaded 
glass supported on frames covered with metal over 
which is applied silver leaf. Over the rotunda, 
supported on pendentives, is a circular colonnade. 
This colonnade in turn supports a dome in which 
is a large skylight. From the top of this dome is 
suspended a chandelier also covered with silver 
leaf. With its wings the rotunda measures about 
100 feet by 100 feet. The height of the dome above 
the second floor is 94 feet. 



In the rotunda are the following inscriptions: Inscriptions 
" 1784, 1854, 1904,^ The University of the State of 
New York"; "Here shall be gathered the best 
books of all lands and all ages"; "This library 
aims to uplift the State and serve every citizen"; 
" A system of free common schools wherein all the 
children of this State may be educated." 

About thirty-two paintings of varying size, which Mural 
are being executed by Mr Will H. Low, will be paintings 
placed upon the walls below the cornice and be- 
tween columns. The general title of the paintings 
is to be "The Aspiration of Man for Intellectual 
Enlightenment and the Results of Its Attainment." 

The general reference reading room of the State General 
T •, • 11 L ^- .L • reading room 

Library occupies practically the entire north wing. 

It is placed directly above and in immediate con- 
nection with an immense stack room having a 
capacity of 2,000,000 volumes. Directly in front 
of the entrance is the loan desk, back of which are 
the automatic book lifts and the general reference 
desk. At the rear of the room are alcoves for the 
special collections on education, technology, history 

^1784 The Regents of the University of the State 
of New York incorporated. 

1854 State Department of Public Instruction 
created. 

1904 Unification of the two educational systems 
of the State. 



and genealogy. At the left of the entrance (west) 
are the officesof the director and at the right (east) 
the card catalog room and office of the reference 
librarian. The architectural treatment of the 
reading room^^consists of twelve columns with steel 
cores over which are placed the ornamental shells. 
On these columns rest a series of terra cotta tile 
domes. These are constructed of three thick- 
nesses of red tile put together in herringbone 
formation, and in such a manner as to make 
the domes self-supporting between the steel up- 
rights. The size of this room is io6 feet by 132 
feet and the height of the domes is about 50 feet. 
The walls are of imitation limestone and the room 
receives ample light from the fenestration consist- 
ing of eleven huge leaded glass windows. Suspended 
from each dome is an electrolier, the light from the 
forty incandescents being transmitted through a 
large circular sheet of specially designed glass, 
giving a soft light to the whole room and an 
unusually attractive effect of height to the 
ceiling. 
^P®<^'f^ The electroliers in the periodical room and the law 

library are similar to those in the general reading 
room, except that the light is diffused downward 
through Georgia marble a quarter of an inch thick 
instead of through glass. The tops of the fixtures 
are open, permitting indirect lighting by reflec- 
tion from the ceiling. The general lighting of the 



libraries 



medical and law libraries is produced by side lights 
in groups of three supported by bronze fixtures. 
In all these libraries special and distinct light 
for reading is supplied by hooded desk lights 
which are arranged to concentrate on the reading 
tables. 

An elliptical self-supporting stone staircase leads Elliptical 
to the third floor. This staircase is noticeable for staircase 
its simplicity and beauty. 

On a mezzanine at the east end of the building, Mezzanine 
are the offices of the secretaries of the State Board ° *^®^ 
of Medical Examiners, State Board of Pharmacy, 
State Teachers Retirement Fund Board, and the 
inspector of nurse training schools. 

THIRD FLOOR 

The offices of the Examinations Division occupy Examinations 
the entire northwest side of the third floor. On Division 
the south side are the large classrooms of the Li- 
brary School and offices and lecture rooms con- State Library 
nected therewith. At the southwest corner is a School 
room to be used for general conferences of the 
various State boards of examiners. The Educa- Other offices 
tional Extension Division occupies the northeast 
side, and on the south are the History Division, 
Library for the Blind and Public Records Division. 
The main reading room of the Library extends 
through the wing on the third floor. 



Main 
museum 



Indian 
exhibit 

Botany and 
zoology 



Rotunda view 



Mezzanine 



FOURTH FLOOR 

The fourth floor is devoted entirely to the State 
Museum. The south side is occupied by one ex- 
hibition hall which is 570 feet in length, 50 feet 
in height and 54 feet in width. Though subdivided 
into sections, a vista is aflx)rded its entire length. 
This room will contain the State collections in 
geology, mineralogy and paleontology. A smaller 
hall at a higher level and north of the hall of eco- 
nomic geology will be devoted to archeology, and 
especially important among its exhibits will be six 
life-size groups representing the Six Nations of the 
Iroquois. The room at the north of the hall of 
paleontology will contain collections in botany, and 
the north extension or Elk street wing is an ex- 
hibition room 107 by 132 feet and is known as 
zoology hall. All these rooms are lighted from 
above. On going to the north wing one passes 
the circular colonnade before mentioned; and be- 
tween the columns a comprehensive view of the 
rotunda is afforded. The offices of the Director 
of the Museum and his assistants are located on a 
lower mezzanine in the rear, adjacent to the long 
exhibition room. 



( j.NiWTj -aaMoj ^oxijtfj M^K ql) -x-g jdvwh 




Z^vazuip 



•^<^ N\CV\.9^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 504 239 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




021 504 239 P 4 



